OC KEVIN GILBRIDEQ: What do you remember about Manningham’s touchdown reception in last year’s NFC Championship Game?A: I drew it up on the sideline. The free safety was hanging on the backside so they were making it difficult to throw on the front side, so I said we’ll run our normal route and get the safety that’s dropping down to jump it and we’ll throw a post on the backside. Great throw, great catch. It worked out, but the second half was a struggle because they did a great job defensively. It was important that we get a big play somewhere. It worked out.

Q: What is it about the 49ers defensive line and front seven that makes it so hard to block in terms of protecting Eli?A: Ability. That’s it. They have great players. They’re tremendous, they’re tough. They have great speed on the outside, Smith is a beast on the inside, he’s strong, he does as good a job of grabbing a hold of offensive linemen and allowing those twists to take place. He never gets called for it so he gets away with murder. That, in conjunction with the ability level they have, makes them as formidable as anybody we go against, and we go against some pretty good ones in Dallas’ and Philadelphia’s. They’re as good as anybody up front.

Q: Mario Manningham told us yesterday that he’s been talking to the DBs and coaches about your stuff. How big a concern is it that they have two players who have spent a lot of time with your offense?A: You certainly wish it didn’t happen, but many of the things we do are predicated on what you do defensively. If you’re going to sit down because, “hey, this is where it’s supposed to go,” guess what, we’re not sitting down because you’re not where you’re supposed to be. Most of our big plays take advantage of situations where guys are trying to overplay or cheat on a route. That’s when our big plays happen. You’ve seen a couple of examples in the last few weeks with Victor (Cruz) running through. It’s a read-route for us; certain coverage allows us to do that. That’s something we spend a lot of time on. That’s a foundation of our routes. Maybe as opposed to some teams where I’m going to run an 18-yard in or a 14-yard curl or a 12-yard this; when we’re coming down we’re making decisions. It really doesn’t matter what you do, if we’re doing it well enough, we’re going to have a chance to get open. It still comes down to are you good enough to beat a defender and are you good enough up front to provide sufficient time for the quarterback to make those decisions, to sit and see who’s open. It maybe wouldn’t be quite as a concern as it for some more conventional offenses.

DC PERRY FEWELLQ: Any changes to get the defensive line some sacks and quarterback hits? A: They’ll get sacks, they’ll get hits. I have a lot of confidence in those guys. They’ll play, they’ll be fine.

Q: Thoughts on the play of DTs Markus Kuhn and Marvin Austin? A: I thought Markus Kuhn performed pretty well. I think Marvin is still a work in progress. He still needs a lot of work; he still needs a lot of reps. The talent is there.

Q: Most of the league’s teams are pass-first now. Are the 49ers a different breed? A: Very different. They present you a lot of different runs and blocking schemes, a lot of different personnel groups with the formations and adjustments. They are a little bit unique in what they do.

WR HAKEEM NICKSQ: Do you think you could?A: I think I could compete whenever I’m called on. It isn’t like I haven’t been working off the field. I’ve been running as much as I can on the elliptical and the bike, pool work, whatever I can do, I’ve been doing. I’m not really worried about that part.

Q: Any pain or stiffness or lack of flexibility?A: I’m not really trying to talk about injuries too much. My mentality is that I’m playing alright. We’ll see tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a deciding factor, hopefully that answers all the questions I’ve been asking. Right now, I’m just going through the course and stuff like that. It’s still a matter of me just getting back out there.

Q: How much of a challenge is it to go back to San Francisco after you beat them last year?A: Yeah, there’s no doubt that this should be a circled game for them on their calendar. They’re definitely a tough team to beat. We know our work is going to be cut out for us, but we’re going to rise up to the challenge. That’s what we do.

LB MATHIAS KIWANUKARE: Assessment of San FranciscoA: I think that’s what you see when you watch them on film. Defensively, they have a tendency to get in a mode where they can control offenses and their offense is very effective. They run the ball well. They get on the perimeter, but they can also throw the ball. So both sides of the ball, we’ve got to make sure that we play our strongest game.

Q: What has allowed them to run the ball so well?A: It’s a combination of things. Up front, they’re solid. Their backs are obviously the main story there. They block well for each other and then they have the play action that they run off of it, which makes people kind of unsure which way they’re going to go with it. So I’d say… Especially their O-Lineman, everyone is talking about running the ball, but they have great running backs and they also can run that play action, so it’s a combination.

Q: What has allowed them to run the ball so well?A: It’s a combination of things. Up front, they’re solid. Their backs are obviously the main story there. They block well for each other and then they have the play action that they run off of it, which makes people kind of unsure which way they’re going to go with it. So I’d say… Especially their O-Lineman, everyone is talking about running the ball, but they have great running backs and they also can run that play action, so it’s a combination.

RB AHMAD BRADSHAWQ: Are you interested in seeing your buddy?A: Oh yeah. I haven’t seen him in a while. It will be good to see some familiar faces out there in San Fran on the other side of the ball.

Q: You had 200 rushing yards last week. You go against the best run defense this week. Do you sit there and say that you can’t expect 200?A: Expect the unexpected. With this line, there’s no telling what we can accomplish and we’re just going to go out there and give it our all.

Q: What makes that front seven so good against the run?A: They’re just physical. They’re strong. They set blocks better than anybody in the league. They hit people up front and they come back to the ball. If the ball gets past them, they make plays downfield; even the big guys. So they never quit, they never stop and we’re up for the task and I think we’ll be fine.